Sponsors (43)
The bill aims to expand and diversify the perinatal workforce and improve culturally competent maternal care—benefiting low‑income, rural, and minority birthing people—but does so through modest federal investments and advisory guidance that impose administrative burdens, new costs, and will take years and uneven state adoption to fully realize benefits.
Pregnant and postpartum people — especially those who are low‑income, rural, or from racial and ethnic minority groups — will likely gain better access to and higher-quality maternity care (including midwifery, doulas, and culturally/linguistically congruent services).
Students and the health workforce — including midwives, nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and perinatal workers — receive scholarships, training, and recruitment incentives to expand the perinatal workforce and target Health Professional Shortage Areas.
People from diverse backgrounds will receive more culturally competent care because training and curricula will address implicit bias, racism, and culturally/linguistically congruent care standards.
Taxpayers and Medicaid programs face increased federal and state spending (authorized scholarships/grants and potential expansion of reimbursable provider categories), which could raise federal outlays or require offsets and increase Medicaid expenditures.
States, schools, and health systems will incur additional administrative burdens and implementation costs (accreditation, reporting, curriculum changes, billing system updates), which could strain capacity and slow rollout.
Guidance and GAO reports are largely advisory; without mandatory requirements or new implementation funding, recommended changes may not be adopted, limiting real-world improvements for pregnant people and minority communities.
Based on analysis of 6 sections of legislative text.
Creates guidance, studies, and competitive grant programs to grow and diversify the perinatal workforce and promote culturally congruent respectful maternity care, with authorized funding for FY2027–FY2031.
Introduced March 25, 2026 by Gwendolynne S. Moore · Last progress March 25, 2026
Creates federal guidance, studies, and competitive grant programs to grow and diversify the perinatal workforce and promote respectful, culturally and linguistically congruent maternity care. It funds training and scholarships for midwives, nurses, physician assistants, and other perinatal workers, requires studies and reports on best practices and barriers, and directs recurring GAO assessments of education and access barriers. Grants and studies must prioritize recruitment and retention of racial and ethnic minority students, training for practice in Health Professional Shortage Areas and high-disparity communities, inclusion of bias/racism training in curricula, and annual reporting; two HHS studies and a GAO series of reports are required. Authorization of appropriations is set for FY2027–FY2031 for the training and nursing scholarship programs.